Accounting Professor Wins Silver Circle Award

Yehia Salama has been teaching longer than most of his students have been alive.

"Teaching is my life," says Salama, a lecturer in accounting who teaches managerial, cost and intermediate accounting. "I get a lot of satisfaction by feeling I am doing something which will be appreciated by a lot of people later on."

His love for all things accounting leads to the magic number 38. That's the total number of years he's taught in Kuwait, Egypt and the United States.

Since arriving at UIC four years ago, Salama's no-nonsense approach to teaching has not changed.

"I normally tell students in the first class, 'Please consider class as a symphony and I am the leader.' I am trying to teach them knowledge and discipline," he says.

"In Egypt, I lectured to between 1,000 and 2,000 students at a time. This is why I tell my students I need to have discipline in the classroom. I encourage students to come to class only if they want to learn."

Education, Salama says, is the worst profession if you don't like it.

"Teaching is really hard," he explains. "To succeed, you have to love teaching very, very much. Without loving teaching and communicating with the students, you will not succeed."

Salama is also an avid reader.

"I'll read everything I can get my hands on - anything to do with accounting, newspapers, magazines and novels."

Recognition of his teaching abilities by his students is a surprise and an honor, Salama says.

"This award means a lot to me," he says. "For students to choose me as an excellent teacher is very satisfying."